Letter-box



` UNITED STATES ATENT Ormes.

MICHAEL J. DONAHUE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

LETTER-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 474,229, dated May 3, 1892.

Application filed February 24,1891. Serial No. 382,672. (No model.)

`To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL JOSEPH DONA- HUE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street Letter-Boxes, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact descriptiomreference being had tothe accompanying drawings, making part of this y being broken away.

Street letter-boxes to be an improvement Ion those now in use should be as simple as possible and should be so constructed that in transferring letters from the letter-box to the bag of the collector it will be impossible for Inailmattei', through accident or negligence, to fall to the ground or be mutilated, injured, or crushed by the act of opening the door of the box.

My invention has for its object to enable me to secure these advantages and at the same time effect the saving of from iifty to seventy per cent. in the time and labor of collecting and sorting.

To this end myinvention consists in certain novel features of construction and combination of parts, as hereinafter fully described, and speciically pointed out and claimed.

In the said drawings, A represents a letterbox, which is provided with two slots a a-one on each sidewhich may be used by two different persons at the same time. The slot a next the curbstone may be used by any one in a carriage or on horseback without alighting or interfering with any one using the slot a next the houses.

Letters mailed in the slots a o. strike the loorf, Fig. 2, which consists of a stationary second floor transversely inclined at an angle of about forty-five degrees, causing the letters deposited in the box to partly rest or press against the upper part of the door, it being a partly-reciprocating door, being hinged or attached to the box by means of a horizontal axle-rod g, which passes through the lsides of the'b'opx and through contiguous holes in t-he door guards or flanges h 7i, the portion b of the door above the axle-rod acting and opening outwardly and the part m below the axle-rod acting and opening inwardly.

On pins CZ d, Figs. l and 3, which protrude outwardly from the flanges 7i h, a bag or other receptacle may be hung, and the mail-matter, pressing against the door b, will pass transversely by gradient gravitation into the bag or receptacle hung on the pins d d, when the door is unlocked and opened to the extent shown in Fig. 3, the inclined loorf and portion b of the door when opened forming a transversely straight passage. extending out from and beyond the front side of the box, through which the inail-matter will pass freely into the bag or other receptacle of the collector. The iianges 7L 7L, having the pins d d, and being of one piece with the door b, form complete guards. Said guards acting outside the main walls or body of the box prevent the mutilation of the letters that would occur in opening a door having inwardly-acting guards, and by their half-circular shape acting under the cleats c o also eifectually prevent any mail-matter from falling other than into a bag hung on the pins CZ d.

The lower portion of the letter-box, which is below the rod g, is provided in front with a wide slot or space e, the breadth of the box, and is for the reception of newspapers, small packages, dro., which would otherwise be left on the top ofthe box. This space e when the door b is dropped down, (see Figs. 2 and 3,) such operation serving to raise the part '1n of the door upward and backward, is then sufiiciently wide to permit the hand and arm of the collector to be introduced within the lower portion w of the letter-box for the removal of inail-matter therein, and when the door b is closed up this lower portion m will partially close the space e, leaving a slot or aperture between the bottoni of the door m and the upper edge of the lower portion of the front of the boX of sufficient width only for mailing purposes, as seen in Fig. l. The outer ends of the lower portion m of the door are cut away at oc x, Fig. l, and are adapted to meet the notches fu 'v in the sides of the boxjj, as seen in Fig. 2, at the same time IOO that the inner ends of the ianges 7L h are brought into contact with the upper parts of the cleats c c at l, Fig. 2. The notches 'u i), with the cleats c c, serve to allow the door to open to, but prevents opening beyond, the extent shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The holes r lo, formed in the sides of the box jj, are for the purpose of affording egress for dust, dac., that may accumulate in the bottom of the box. The portions n m of the anges or guards h h arepof increased thickness to afford additional strength for supporting the pins d d.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, with a mailbox, of an inclined intermediate floor f, dividing the box into upper and lower compartments, the upper compartment provided `with two letterports d a and an opening on its front side, the lowercompartment provided with an openin'g e .above the inwardly-proj ecting flange e', the `'upper compartment provided with a door Z9, said door vbeing attached to the box by meansofanaxle-rod g, the doorbeing also provided with an extension m belowits pivotalpoint, so that it will partially close the ,opening e in the lower compartment when the door is closed, substantially as hereinbetore described.

. 2. The combination, with a mail-box having: two compartments separated Aby an inclined intermediate floor f and having two openings on its front side, an upper deliveryopening and alower mailing and collection opening, of a door I), having an extension m and secured to the box by means of a single axle-rodand'arranged to close the openings, vas described, the door having externally-opverating side guards carrying obliquely-arranged pins del, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with a mail-box divided into two separate compartments by means of the inclined intermediate lioor f, substantially as described, of a door b, hinged adjacent to the fioor f in front of the openings to said compartments and adapted to` a door b, hinged adjacent to the floor f in front of the openings to said compartments and adapted to close the opening to the upper compartment, said door being provided below the pivotal point with an extension m, adapted when said door is closed to partially cover the opening to the lower compartment, and having two externally-operating side guards h h, located one on each side, and arranged to operate outside of the main walls of the box, and two funnel-shaped obliquely-arranged pins d d, all operating substantially in thel manner and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination, with a mail-box divided into two separate compartments by means of the inclin ed intermediate iioorf, substantially as described, of a door Z9, hinged adjacent to the iioor f in front of the openings to said compartments and adapted to close the opening to the upper compartment, said door being provided below the pivotal point with an extension m, adapted'when said door is closed to partially cover the opening tothe lower compartment, and two externally-operating side guards h, located one` on each side of the door Z) and arranged to operate outside the main walls of j the box and inside the two cleats c c, said cleats being attached to the outer sides of the end of the box and of suitable shape to receive said guards, substantially as set forth. p p

6. The combination, with a mail-box divided into two separate compartments Lby means oftheinclined intermediate floorf, substantially as described, of a door b, hinged adjacent to the Hoor f in front of the openings to said compartments and adaptedlto close the openings to the upper compartment,said door being provided below the pivotal point with an extension m, adapted when said door is closed to partially cover the opening to 'the lower compartment, and two externally-operating side guards h 7t,`located one on each side of the door b and arranged to operate outside the main walls of the box and inside the two IOO cleats c c, said cleats being attached to the outer sides of the end of the box and of suitable shape to receive said guards, and two notches i; i; in the sides of the boxjj, fitting theparts cut away of the'portion m of the door, all operating substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 23d day of February A. D. 1891.

MICHAEL J. DONAHUE.

Witnesses:

SAML. JENNIsoN, ELMER E. YOUNG. 

